A Stone Fox
by Kage no Sendo
Summary: Konoha wasn't the only one with a jinchuriki, and what will they do when another not only appears, but demands to be made a ninja...? Will the old adage 'birds of a feather flock together' hold true, or will Naruto dislike the new addition?
1. Run Fox Run!

Kei walked down the street, trying to ignore the glares the civilians were giving her. She fought the urge to growl at them, knowing it would make them worse. An internal whine to her prisoner did nothing, so she mutely continued. She hated this village, she hated it's people, so what reason did she have to stay?

As soon as she thought that, she stopped, rattling the bars of her mental cage. **"Why did you wake me up, woman?" **came the familiar growl. She quickly shut him up with her idea, quickly disappearing to her cave home.

Well, calling the cave her 'home' would be a stretch. It was rather big, but it lacked any kind of 'homely touches', with only a beat-up blanket as a bed and a fire pit. She pulled out her measly dinner, a moldy piece of bread, waiting for nightfall. **"You sure you want to do this Kei?" **He asked. Kei noted it was the first time he referred to her by name. 'I'm not an idiot, Banryuu. I know the risks.' The risks of what exactly?

Raiding the Jutsu Library and abandoning the village. If she was caught, she wouldn't be killed- she'd be tortured. 'All I have to do is get away before they realize what I've done.' He quieted for the moment. It was easier said than done, even though fooling the librarian would be easy that would only get her Genin justu. To get the Chunin and Jonin level Justu, she would have to fool the Chunin guards.

But if she was determined enough, she could get it. Then all she had to do was make it to Fire Country.

As soon as the sun hit the horizon, she got up and went to the Library. Right before she got there, she ducked into a corner and henge'd into a Genin. The Librarian smiled and waved her through. "We'll be closing soon, so you better be quick." she warned. If not for managing to get a hold of Chakra Cards, she wouldn't know her elements- Earth and Fire. With that valuable piece of information, she wouldn't have to grab everything on every element.

She went to the section with the scrolls on Fire first, and quickly stashed all of them into the backpack. There weren't all that many, since this was a village of mostly Earth users. The Earth section was more sizable, and they all went into the backpack as well. Checking the time, she created a Clone, and had it leave to fool the librarian.

Once the librarian left, she waited until the Chunin guards had fallen asleep. Moving quickly, she stole all the jutsu she could get her hands on. After a brief internal battle, she grabbed books and scrolls on sealing, poisons and healing as well. She accidentally dropped a book, which didn't make the guards awake. Kei was tense for awhile after that anyway. On her way out, one of the guards sneezed, and noticed her. Kei gave an 'oh crap' smile to the sleepy guard, before taking off as fast as she could.

She managed to get out of the village, since the alarm brought the gate guards to the library. 'Damn fox! Some energy would be useful right now!' she mentally yelled, starting to hop trees and boulders. The forest around Iwa was sparse, with boulders making up most of the area.

Banryuu didn't respond, and Kei tried to hold her speed up, but she began to falter. She gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the burning in her legs. She had trained her body and mind as well as she could, but her age was working against her. There was a limit to what an eight year old could do, after all. Right when she was going to give up running, Banryuu gave her a burst of energy, and she was able to run, and dodge the kunai and shurikan thrown at her. She snatched what she could- want not, waste not.

Banryuu was being strangely quiet, and Kei tried not to worry about him, too focused on getting into Hi no Kuni. 'Banryuu, how far away is the border?' she asked, even her mental voice showing her exhaustion. She was barely out of throwing range, and was wondering why none of them had thrown Justu at her yet, but when she turned to check, Banryuu yelled **'In front of you!' **Kei looked in front, and managed to do an ungainly jump over the Jonin. 'Fuuuuuck!' Kei mentally yelped as they began doing hand signs. A few seconds later, some boulders and stone dragons detached from the earth and flew at her. Kei waited until the last second before intentionally missing a branch, plunging about twenty feet. That saved her from the shock of the impact, but some shrapnel was flying, and Kei's keen ears heard some swearing, signaling at least one Iwa nin had been hit.

Kei still didn't question Banryuu's silence, and was thinking how to avoid the jonin. They could easily overtake her, but they seemed to be holding back 'Must be planning something.' she decided, trying to sense if any more had tried to get in front of her. She didn't sense any, but that didn't ease her mind much. She tried to recall the maps she had studied. 'To get to Hi no Kuni, I should go through...Taki...Might have a chance to rest there while they ask for permission...Then beeline to Hi no Kuni, where I will be home free!' She figured she must be close, and began to slow down.

Banryuu growled, warning her, but Kei ignored it, keeping a steady, slow pace. Slow for a ninja, that is. Kei heaved a sigh of relief, the stress on her legs lessening. The ninja behind her suddenly sped up. 'I must be really close to the border for them to get so desperate!' Kei enthused, before noticing the ninja in her way. She noticed the Iwa headband first, and her heart sank. Then the slash across it registered.


	2. Saved by a Wolf!

Kage: Okay, I forgot to mention this before, but Kei won't meet Naruto right away. I have story issues, but I'll try to type up a bit a day. Also, PLEASE review. I won't be cruel and say 'I won't update unless I get XX reviews' but...cmon people please? I want to know if you like it or not, or what I did wrong.

Kei was pulled roughly against his -her?- chest. The Iwa ninja jumped out and took offensive positions. Kei studied the Ronin – traitor to the Iwa village-(Just like her!). She couldn't tell if it was male or female, since it was wearing a kind of mask, like the Konoha Anbu do. The headband was tied over it. The mask was of a Wolf snarling, with frighteningly real detail on the mask. She was so close she could see the ridges cut into the mask to resemble fur.

She couldn't see much else, but when the mask tilted almost imperceptibly, she noticed that the Ronin had beautiful blue eyes, and the Ronin winked. "Halt!" one of the ninjas barked, which Kei thought was stupid since they obviously weren't moving. Oblivious to her thoughts, the ninja continued "You are to hand the girl over. She belongs to Iwagakure. If you don't-" The Ronin interrupted him "If I don't? What will you do? Attack? Surely not, not with her _this close _to the wrong end of a kunai, right?" The Ronin's voice seemed to be lazy, but she did pull the knife up to Kei's neck, the tip barely poking her.

Banryuu was being silent, but Kei could tell he was focusing all his attention, and power, on fixing her legs. The Iwa ninja shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to react, when The Ronin took a step back, and they all tensed up "Now then, You're going to stand there and watch us enter Taki no Kuni, then you're going to return to your village and tell the Kage that a ronin forced her to steal the Jutsu, and has kidnapped her." The Ronin continued, walking backwards. They didn't attack, and once they were over the invisible barrier, they couldn't. The ronin disappeared in a swirl of dust.

The Iwa nins looked at each other. "Sir, what should we do?" asked one of the Chunin guards. His superior's face was twisted with hate and anger. "...We do what she says. If we don't, it will seem that we were weak- she's not even a academy student and she managed to steal our Justu! Not to mention what that says about our control over our country...Besides, we have copies of the Justu."

Ignoring the protests, he turned and began running back to Iwagakure.

Kei had shut her eyes, the passage of the trees making her sick. When she opened them again, she found she was in a makeshift camp, a rough tent off to her right, in front of her was a campfire with a slightly- charred rabbit over it on a spit. "Forgive me, but it seems I've charred our dinner." The Ronin still seemed so casual, taking the rabbit off the fire, sliding it off the spit and cutting it in half with her kunai.

Kei didn't respond, still a little sickened and shocked. "W-What do you mean 'our'" she asked shakily, trying to project her 'tough girl' image. The Ronin looked at her, amused. "You really think you could survive out there on your own? Even if you do survive the wildlife, you don't have any supplies do you? Survival skills?" Kei shifted uncomfortably, the Ronin bringing the gaps in her plan to her attention. **'Face it, You're beaten' **Banryuu chimed in. Kei gave in "fine, Fine. So what do you get from helping me?" Kei asked, accepting the rabbit, but not eating yet. The Ronin seemed to be confused, since he (she?) remained silent. "I mean, Why are you helping me? I have no money, nothing of any value." The Ronin sighed, pulling off her mask and setting it aside. She had on a black mesh mask that covered her entire face and head, bar the eyes. She pulled it down around her neck, revealing pale silver hair and soft features.

Kei stared at her in shock for a few minuets "Okaru Toboe?" Her mouth was open as she tried to remember all she could about the Ronin. Okaru Toboe- White Wolf, Stone wolf, White Howl, she had been known by many names. Toboe nodded "Yup. I'll be in deep shit if anyone ever finds out, so lets keep this between us, hmm?" she said pleasantly before ripping into her half of the rabbit. Kei still stared at her for a few seconds, doing a remarkable impersonation of a guppy. "eat up before it gets cold. Or I steal it." Toboe teased. Kei closed her mouth, beginning to eat her rabbit.

Kei carefully studied Toboe. Toboe seemed untroubled, staring into the fire with a small smile on her face. "So...Um..." Kei wasn't stupid, she realized the opportunity staring her in the face. Toboe looked at her, raising an eyebrow in question. Kei's voice failed her "Never mind." she muttered, looking at the ground. She could see Toboe out of the corner of her eye, getting up and coming around behind her. Kei didn't move- Toboe took care of her this far, so it's not like she was going to kill her. Even if she tried, Kei wouldn't be able to fight back.

Much to Kei's surprisee, Toboe just lifted the forgottenbook bagg off herback. Kei made a mewing noise and reached for it "Nuh-uh. You need sleep. You're what...? seven?" Kei scowled at her "Eight." she corrected. Toboe rolled her eyes "eight. Still, you need sleep." Toboe easily picked up the protesting girl, carrying her into the tent and setting her down in a sleeping bag. Kei really couldn't argue, and the adrenaline from the run was wearing off, letting her know about the burning ache in her legs and lungs. She yawned, and curled up, drifting off to sleep. Toboe watched her for a second, twirling a kunai on her finger. The smile had faded, leaving behind a blank, calculating face.


End file.
